


Nobody

by DeskGirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don’t copy to another site, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 20:23:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20645147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeskGirl/pseuds/DeskGirl
Summary: A short story written for a NaNoWriMo Workshop prompt. An alternate future. A happy ending.***Harry stood in the hallway, enjoying the bustle of students heading to classes or their dorms or to their favorite study spots. He could see, through the window, a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw doing homework in the same spot out in the courtyard where he and his friends used to meet when the weather was nice.“Hello, Professor,” a group of third-year witches chimed as they passed.





	Nobody

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a NaNoWriMo workshop at the local library a couple years ago. It was fanfiction-themed. We took books with single-word titles and used those titles as prompts (5-10 minutes to write). I found it hidden in my writing tag on tumblr and decided to post it here. 
> 
> The prompt was Nobody. I thought, "What if Harry Potter's fame quietly faded to nothing, giving way to the next generation's view of him as simply Professor Potter?" The story was inspired by a post on tumblr that, unfortunately, I can't find now. It argued that it makes a lot more sense for Harry to have become a professor. He was excellent at teaching other students to defend themselves, and he's always loved Hogwarts. It also argued that Neville would have made an excellent headmaster, both caring and protective of the next generation of witches and wizards.

Harry stood in the hallway, enjoying the bustle of students heading to classes or their dorms or to their favorite study spots. He could see, through the window, a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw doing homework in the same spot out in the courtyard where he and his friends used to meet when the weather was nice.

“Hello, Professor,” a group of third-year witches chimed as they passed.

Harry smiled fondly. He recognized those three from his very first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He’d made an awful mess of his first day teaching—a mess which had left part of the ceiling permanently charred. But if anything, he thought that'd helped dispel any notions his students may have had about “The Great Harry Potter.” Now he was just another teacher to them. He was a part of their ordinary school life complete with silly warm-up exercises, homework assignments, and group projects. The only thing Harry’s students found special about him was his penchant for liberally awarding points. And candy.

Harry spotted Neville coming down the hall. He was a flurry of long legs and disheveled robes, very clearly trying to appear calm and collected, but also very clearly failing. The students parted respectfully to let him pass.

“Neville, over here,” Harry called, waving to him.

Neville made his way over, although he looked anxiously between Harry and wherever it was he'd been headed. “I can’t stay and chat right now, Harry—er, Professor Potter. I need to prepare for my meeting next hour with the Accidental Magic Reversal Department, and I'm not ready.” He paused to crack a wry smile. "I swear I've forgotten something, but with my luck, I won't remember what it was until it's too late."

Harry reached up and slung an arm around Neville’s shoulders. “Sounds like what you need is a few minutes of quiet and some hot chocolate. I haven’t seen you this shaken up since your first week on the job. Nobody will notice you missing for a few minutes. Come on.”

“I’m the headmaster. Of course people will notice,” Neville protested, his voice low to avoid drawing attention from the milling students. All the same, he let his friend steer him through the door of Harry’s classroom and towards the back door that led to his office.

“The scorchmark’s still there,” Neville commented, nodding towards the spot.

“Gives the room character,” Harry replied.


End file.
